Marketing Your Self-Published Book (Dallas, TX)
When you self-publish, you have to wear many hats including that of a salesperson and marketing specialist. Once it’s ready for sale, it’s time to begin marketing your masterpiece. However, most successful authors that self-publish insist that your marketing plan has to begin before your book is ready for sale (some writers begin developing a marketing plan before they begin to write). Why? Because it takes time to put all the pieces in place to sell your book.
Build Your Marketing Foundation Before You Publish
The first step is to develop an author platform. This includes putting together a website, starting a blog, making a list of possible speaking engagements to promote your book, and developing a mailing list. Without the advantage of a traditional publisher’s resources, distributors and insider experience to advertise and sell your book, you must extend your reach as far as possible. Find as many ways as you can to communicate with potential buyers. Other ways to develop your platform is to join book clubs, participate in blogs and forums and talk to anyone and everyone about your book.
Most self-published authors feel that a successful marketing campaign is a full-time job and it’s akin to an up-and-coming new band hitting the road to promote their new album. They contact radio and television stations about possible interviews, make personal appearances, and attend trade shows and join in other promotional efforts. But what if you are attend to other tasks of self-publishing and don’t have the time to promote your book? Ask for help!
OutSource Your Marketing Efforts
Writers need other writers. Find a professional who is experienced in writing effective web copy and promotional materials. While you’re holding down your 9 to 5 job, they can be working on your behalf. If you have a website to promote your book (you have to have a website if your are self-publishing) a good web copywriter can help you appear on the first or second search engine results pages such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN. They do this by employing key words and phrases and sometimes by hiring an Search Engine Optimization (SEO) expert to increase your presence on the web,
When self-publishing, sending out a press release when your book is ready for sale is another great way to build interest and momentum. Most local newspapers will accept your press release (with no guarantee however that the information will appear in print) and there are number of web-based press release services such as PRWeb. You can expect to pay between $50 to $200 to share the news about your new book with the web community. The results can be hit and miss and sometimes it takes a little persistence to see results from a press release. It’s not difficult to make your book available for purchase on Amazon or other online booksellers and you can use the fact that your book is for sale at these outlets when promoting your book.
Market Your Book In Several Media Formats
Finally, you may want to consider making your book available as an ebook. This has become quite popular for books about business and marketing and ebooks are starting to appear for other titles as well. An ebook is an electronic version of your book that can be purchased and downloaded to the customer via your website. It can be as simple as a PDF file of your book with your cover as the first page.
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Phillip Crum is the Chief Idea Officer of Sir Speedy Walnut Hill located at 2414 Arbuckle Court Dallas, TX 75229, and is committed to the idea of helping small business owners do a better job of finding their next customer or client. Phillip can be reached at 214-213-7445, or via email.
Copyright © 2006-2010 Phillip Crum
